13 September 2006

The Internet can have a "huge impact" on socially excluded members of the public, according to the managing director of UK online centres.

UK online centres is a body which provides Internet access in the community and often to specific groups, such as the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

Helen Milner, the organisation's managing director, commented in the wake of a new Social Exclusion Action Plan, created by the Cabinet Office, which asserts that the private sector also has a role to play in helping the socially excluded.

Ms Milner told eGov monitor: "We should not underestimate the huge impact the Internet can have on the lives of socially excluded people - computers and the Internet have the potential to open up whole new worlds.

She added that the estimated 11 million adults who do not have Internet access are disadvantaged as they are unable to access "better, more convenient and easier to use services".

© Adfero Ltd

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